Goldfish in the Hat

Maya's mom stood in the kitchen doorway, vitamin bottle extended like some kind of peace offering. "You're gonna need this today, sweetie. First day of high school, gotta keep that immune system strong."

Maya swallowed the orange pill without water, already pulling her snapback down low over her eyes. The hat was new — a birthday gift from her cousin in LA — and it had become her armor. With the brim pulled forward, she could be anyone. Anyone who wasn't the quiet girl who'd spent middle school being invisible.

Her iPhone buzzed in her pocket. Emma, her only actual friend from middle school: *u ready for this???*

*as ready as I'll ever be,* Maya typed back, though her thumbs were shaking.

The hallway hit her like a wave — too loud, too bright, everyone already grouped into clusters that seemed impossible to penetrate. Maya kept her head down, hat brim creating her own little world. She spotted Emma by the lockers and started toward her, but froze mid-step.

There he was. Liam from her science class last year, the one she'd spent three months crushing on without ever saying a single actual word to him. He was wearing this beanie that looked exactly like the one he'd worn every day in eighth grade, and something about that familiarity made her heart do this weird little flutter.

She reached for her iPhone reflexively, needing to look busy, needing to not be standing there staring like a total creep. But her hand hit the outside of her pocket instead. Empty.

Panic. Actual, full-body panic. Where was it? She'd had it five seconds ago, she'd swear—

"Looking for this?"

Liam was standing there. Holding her phone. And smiling, kinda crooked, like he was almost nervous too.

"You... you found it."

"You dropped it when you were trying to look cool and not stare at me," he said. "I'm messing with you. It fell out of your pocket when you stopped walking."

Maya felt her face burning. The hat wasn't helping. Nothing was helping.

"Hey," Liam said, "nice hat. We're matching today, I guess." He touched his beanie.

They were both wearing hats. They were both wearing hats and they were both standing there and he was still smiling and this was actually happening.

"So," Liam said, "my mom made me take this giant vitamin this morning that was supposed to be for 'teen brain health' or something, and I think it's actually making me taller. Feel free to mention that if anyone asks about the beanie."

Maya laughed. She actually laughed. "My mom too. She literally chased me around the kitchen with a vitamin D supplement."

The bell rang. People started streaming past them toward their first classes. But neither of them moved.

"Hey," Liam said, "you have Mr. Torres for bio?"

Maya nodded. "Third period."

"Cool." He paused. "You know he has like fifteen goldfish in his classroom? I heard he lets students feed them."

"Goldfish?" Maya raised an eyebrow. "That's your pickup line? Goldfish?"

"I'm working with what I have here." He grinned. "So, third period? Save me a seat by the fish tank?"

Maya adjusted her hat, grinning back. "Maybe. If you're lucky."

Her iPhone buzzed again in her hand — Emma this time: *DUDE you're TALKING TO HIM*

Maya didn't even need to type the response. Some things didn't need to be said out loud, or typed out, or broadcast to anyone watching. The morning vitamin could wait. The hat could stay pulled low. For right now, she had a goldfish feeding to look forward to, and that was enough.